Ascidians, belonging to the subphylum Urochordata, the earliest branch from the lineage to the vertebrates, exhibit a prototypical morphogenesis of chordates in the larval development, although they subsequently metamorphose into adults with a unique body structure. Recent draft genome analysis of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis has identified 9 Hox genes, which, however, have been located on f...

A mathematical model was used to describe the population of the aquatic invasive species, Ciona intestinalis in the presence of cultured mussel production. A differential equation model was developed to represent the key life stages: egg, larva, recruit, juvenile and adult. Stage transition rates were calculated from time spent in a stage and transition probabilities. Because surface availabili...

Ascidians, especially those belonging to the suborder Phlebobranchia, can accumulate high levels of vanadium. Vanadium-binding proteins (vanabins) were first isolated from a vanadium-accumulating ascidian, Ascidia sydneiensis samea, and then the vanabins were cloned, their expression was studied, and metal-binding assays were conducted. In order to unravel the mechanism of vanadium accumulation...

Intra-annual and inter-annual reproductive periodicity for in situ populations of Ciona intestinalis were documented from October 2013 to August 2015 in the small vessel marina at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, NS. Three metrics of reproduction were monitored: (i) larval settlement, (ii) gonad development and (iii) gamete viability. In situ settlement was observed between J...

INTRODUCTION Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is a rare disease characterized by presence of multilocular cysts in the gastrointestinal wall. Rarely, patients may experience symptoms secondary to the cysts. The pathogenesis of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is still unclear and many theories have been advocated to explain the exact origin. Complications occur in about 3% of cases and incl...

HYPOTHESIS A review of the spectrum of illness associated with pneumatosis intestinalis enables us to identify the probable causes of, the best diagnostic approaches to, and the most appropriate treatments for this condition. DATA SOURCES A review of all published material in the English language regarding pneumatosis intestinalis was conducted using the PubMed and MEDLINE databases. Any rele...

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular opportunistic protists that infect a wide variety of animals, including humans, via environmentally resistant spores. Infection requires that spores be in close proximity to host cells so that the hollow polar tube can pierce the cell membrane and inject the spore contents into the cell cytoplasm. Like other eukaryotic microbes, microsporidia may use spe...

There is an urgent need to develop and test potential eradication agents to prevent biofouling by ascidian tunicates in sheltered harbor’s before they can spread to, and subsequently, disrupt benthic ecosystems and aquaculture ventures. We test the effects of bubble streams and suspended particles on two key stages in the early life cycle of Ciona intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1767); (i) Larval settl...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) techniques reported to have high sensitivity and specificity and the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test used to determine antigens in stool samples in the routine diagnosis of Giardia intestinalis. When 44 stool samples in which G. intestinalis cysts and/or trophozoites had been seen during nati...

INTRODUCTION Giardia intestinalis is the most important and common diarrhea-causing parasitic protozoa worldwide with growing clinical relevance in public health. There are many documented cases of G. intestinalis resistance to metronidazole (MZ). Pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR), the membrane-localized enzyme, plays a key role in the development of resistance to drugs. The aim of the...